Not Ready for London 2012? Try the College Olympics First

Recently, the College of Business clubs at San Jose State University held a Business Olympics. In this mini-Olympics, students from the various CoB clubs participated in many different athletic games and fun activities where students had the opportunity to get good workouts, blow off some steam and socialize with others.

According to the club board members who united to host the CoB Olympics, there was a great deal of planning involved. They had to ensure a date, time and space on campus where the games could be held, as well as find faculty members who would be willing to oversee the event since it was an on-campus activity. They also needed enough of the clubs in the College of Business to join so that there would be enough participants for a competition and needed to plan which games to play (touch football and volleyball tournaments, a five-legged race, a balloon stomp game, tug-of-war and business trivia). This being the bare minimum, the board members of the clubs went above and beyond for the event: They even found sponsors for the Olympics – Monster (energy drinks), State Farm Insurance and WiLD 94.9 (a local radio station) – that provided supplies, t-shirts, snacks, water and food for a barbeque after the event. After the eight-hour competition filled with bumps and bruises, we all left having made new connections with students from other clubs and the successful nature of the event will be continued in a now semi-annual College Olympics.

Depending on the department or major you are in, you can tailor the Olympics to fit your criteria and the great part is that this kind of event can be held by any organization on campus. Does your school have any Olympic-like event like SJSU's? If not, will this article help you in planning your own?

Radha Jhatakia is a communications major at San Jose State University. She's a transfer student who had some ups and downs in school and many obstacles to face; these challenges – plus support from family, friends and cat – have only made Radha stronger and have given her the experience to help others with the same issues. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking, sewing and designing. A social butterfly, Radha hopes to work in public relations and marketing upon graduation.

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